Literature Review on mental health and the life satisfaction of women who are in arranged marriages

Bopha Tep Page 1 of 5

Personal Statement June 28, 2018

Personal Statement

Since high school, I have always wanted to become a psychologist even though my parents would rather have seen me become a medical doctor or an engineer. This was a big part of my childhood from being born to a Chinese mother and a half Vietnamese and half French father. I was their third of five children that was born in Vietnam. I have been living in the United States since I was 8-years-old.

I decided to become a small business owner in order to be independent and to have the flexibility in my work schedule to be involved in all levels of my three children’s lives, all daughters, which included their academics, sports and a myriad of other social and recreational activities. The impetus for being closely involved in my daughters’ lives can be traced back to when I was 16-years-old. At that time, I was very assimilated and enjoyed high school in San Jose, California, and my goal was to become a psychologist because I was very good at listening to people and helping them to solve problems until my parents, primarily my mother, wanted me to have an arranged marriage. I had thoughts of running away from home, but I eventually went along with the arranged marriage so as not to disappoint and bring shame to my parents.

My biggest accomplishment during my arranged marriage was when I became a mother to three beautiful girls. I have always wanted to provide my daughters with the best opportunities so that they can become independent individuals. This included making sure that they would never be subjected to arranged marriages.

Besides helping my daughters, I have helped many people over years as a small business owner. My current business of 11 years, the Fat Cat Café in the Uptown District of Downtown Oakland, has become the primary eating place for the Oakland School for Arts (OSA), which is an 800-student Charter school, about a block away from the café. Over the years, I have listened to and advised them, the staff, teachers and administrators. I have also listened to and advised small business owners in the Uptown neighborhood who often come to me for both business and personal advice. I am also very proud of my reviews on YELP in relation to the Fat Cat Café, with most of them being very positive about my café and me.

While working at the Fat Cat Café, I attended junior college, and took some courses at San Jose State University, with the goal of taking courses in my pursuit of a doctoral degree in psychology. I took enough courses until I had enough coursework to apply to and to be accepted into California State University, East Bay (CSUEB) where I completed an intensive online undergraduate program in Human Development with a Women’s Development Option. The program provided me with the flexibility to work fulltime and go to school. The challenge of distance learning for me was getting used to not having real human contact with my classmates and professors, but after a short while, it was like they were right next to me having deep and sometimes very intense conversations online. Overall, the distance learning experience gave me an opportunity to work fulltime and to go to school fulltime, with me honing my planning and organizational skills, which were already pretty good.

While at CSUEB, I was required to take HDEV 3203 (Applying Theory and Methods of Human Development), a course that required students to complete a volunteer work. Being that my goal is to become a clinical psychologist, I was advised and chose to do volunteer work at the Crisis Support Services of Alameda County (CSS). I completed a 90-hour extensive training program over 4 months that included in-class lectures and discussions and working one-on-one with a trainer on the crisis lines. I signed an agreement to volunteer at CSS a minimum of 52 weeks working a minimum of 4 hours per week beginning during April 2015; I kept the same schedule for a year and half. I am continuing to work on the Crisis Line on an as-needed basis, especially during the holiday season. Besides providing exemplary crucial intervention services for individuals and their families in crisis, I have gained unique insight and experience in the mental health field while working collaboratively with a supportive interdisciplinary team.

I think that the Ph.D. in Clinical Psychology program at Saybrook University is the perfect fit for me because its client-centered approach, and the in-depth courses and training align with how I approach life and with my goals. I also think that the program will provide me with a unique opportunity to understand and conduct substantive research. Although women’s and children’s issues are important areas of focus for me, I am flexible and open to the opportunity of broadening my knowledge in order for me to better contribute to society as a scholar and clinical psychologist.

In the final analysis, I believe that your Ph.D. in Clinical Psychology program will provide me with an excellent opportunity to take and pass the National Examination for Professional Practice in Psychology (EPPP) and the California Psychology Laws and Ethics Examination (CPLEE). I believe that being a refuge from Vietnam at a young age, being in an arranged marriage, helping to parent and financially support two younger brothers, raising three beautiful daughters, being a successful small business woman for many years, helping many people who have come to my café, working on a Crisis Line, and recently earning a B.A. in Human Development with a Women’s Development Option from CSUEB has provided me with an excellent foundation and a myriad of interests. I think that completing the Ph.D. in clinical psychology program at Saybrook University will provide me with the best education and training to ultimately achieve my goal of becoming a clinical psychologist. I truly believe that becoming a licensed clinical psychologist will better enable me to help as many people as possible in pursing happiness and self-actualization.